Zzackback 161029

Zzackback 161008

Practice Sketch II 160905

Practice Sketch 160905 V2

Zzackback 160902

In honor of Saturday, I take a moment to contemplate one of those mysteries parents are often faced with during the school year. ~ Keith

Another Practice Sketch

Here's another practice sketch session I made on Twitch.

Now Streaming Practice Sketch Sessions on Twitch

Recently I started to invest time into learning to draw digitally. I've owned a pen tablet for years (a Wacom Intuous 3), but I always struggled with drawing with the tablet while looking up at a screen. It just feels so disconnected. Well, I figured the more practice I got drawing that way, the more comfortable (and hopefully better) I'll get at it.

 I've even begun to stream my time sketching on Twitch. Below are a few sample sketches made in the last month or so. I invite you to stop by and check out the live streams over on Twitch. Click here to go to my Twitch channel.

Practice - Digital Drawing 001

Creating a Comic Strip Using Adobe Illustrator (Version 2)

Creating a Comic Strip using Adobe Illustrator

Practice Sketch 160406

Practice Sketch 160406

The weather certainly has been rough the last week or so!

What is my Facebook Avatar All About?

A couple days ago I changed my Facebook avatar to a cartoon image of a young boy.

What’s that all about? Who is this cartoon character?

First, if you didn’t know already, for more than a decade I’ve been drawing cartoons. I’ve worked on several projects over the years, but the most enjoyable projects have been my own comic strips. I’ve had a lot of fun creating my original comic strip Zzack (a cartoon about a teenage boy named Zack Zimmerman), and a webcomic called RTS Cable TV (or “Real Time Strategy Cable Television”) for a now defunct online gaming community.

Recently, I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a new comic strip called Zzackback, a cartoon based on a younger version of Zack from my original comic strip Zzack. As the idea developed, and as I imagined what the younger Zack would be like, I began to reminisce about my own childhood. Then it occurred to me – why not relive my own childhood through the character(s) in the comic strip?

So, the young cartoon boy that now appears as my Facebook avatar? That’s young Zack, a character who will represent me and my own childhood experiences in my new comic strip and webcomic Zzackback. In the years to come, I plan to re-explore life in my old neighborhood growing up, my experiences in elementary school, etc.

I could elaborate more, but I don't want to give away too much.

Though Zzackback will focus on my younger years, I may eventually give my original comic strip Zzack the same treatment so I can relive my experiences during my teenage years. There’s quite a bit of stories there to share as well.

Needless to say I am really excited about this concept, and I look forward to sharing these stories with you in the years to come.

~ Keith R. Martin (@rangeraragorn)